1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to recreational vehicles and, in particular, relates to a process for insulating recreational vehicles with recycled material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recreational vehicles (RVs) typically provide users with the comforts and amenities of home while travelling. RVs typically comprise an enclosed living quarters mounted on wheels for mobility, and includes, but is not limited to, a motorhome, a fifth wheel trailer, a trailer, or a tent trailer. Motorhomes are generally self-propelled while travel trailers are towed by a towing vehicle.
One comfort feature provided by RVs includes shielding of the occupants inside the RV from the exterior environment outside the RV. The level of shielding, as well as the comfort and amenities level in general, typically increases with the size of the RV. For example, a small, foldable tent trailer provides minimal thermal insulation, and is intended to be used in mild climates. Larger RVs, such as fifth wheel trailers and motorhomes, have fixed walls and roofs that provide a much greater level of protection from the exterior environment and thus may be used in a greater range of climates. In one aspect, the thermal insulation provided by larger RVs, in conjunction with heating and air conditioning units, provide the occupants with a climate controlled interior living space within the RV that may be substantially different than the exterior climate.
Thermal insulation for RVs is typically provided by positioning insulating materials sandwiched between an outer structural panel member and an inner structural panel member so as to form an insulated structure, such as the wall, roof, and/or floor. One popular insulating material is fiberglass that has a thermal resistance, commonly referred to as an R-value, of approximately 3 for a thickness of approximately 1 inch. Commonly referred to as an R-3 insulation value, the units are implied to be in ft2° F. h/Btu. While the fiberglass may easily conform to the shape of the insulated structures, fiberglass, unfortunately, does not necessarily provide sufficient insulation in areas having relatively thin structures, such as found in many RVs.
Another popular thermal insulator is a foam material that has an R-value of approximately 5 to 6 per inch of thickness, almost twice that of the fiberglass. One method of using the foam as a thermal insulator is to sandwich a pre-formed solid block of foam within the structures. In structures that are generally flat, such as the wall structures, flat blocks of foam may be applied to the flat structures in a cost efficient manner. In structures that include curves or irregular shapes, such as in many roof structures and rounded structural components, the shape of the foam may need to be either molded or shaped in a process that is directly tied to the design of the curved structure. Thus, if the design of the curved structure is modified, the shaping process for the foam also needs to be modified, which increases manufacturing costs associated with most structural products. In some cases, if shaping of the foam for a plurality of small curved structures are found to significantly increase manufacturing costs, then such areas of the RV may not be insulated for cost savings, which, unfortunately, reduces the overall insulating performance of the RV.
Hence, commonly used types of insulation, fiberglass and foam cannot be used easily to insulate some areas of the recreational vehicle. Small enclosed spaces often cannot be adequately insulated, as the sheets of fiberglass or foam are difficult to be positioned within the enclosed space. A further difficulty with commonly used types of insulation is the cost factor. To provide insulation to a small enclosed space, a larger piece of insulation material may have to be cut up to provide the small piece of insulation for the small space. This can result in wastage of the remaining sheet of insulative material which increases the cost of manufacture of the recreational vehicle. Moreover, there is increased labor costs associated with spending the time to shape the fiberglass sheet or the foam sheet to match the enclosed space. Thus, there is a need for an improved way of providing insulation to small, hard to reach spaces in recreational vehicles.
An unrelated expense that occurs during the manufacture of a recreational vehicle is the cost of disposing of extraneous packing material. Recreational vehicles come equipped with appliances and fixtures that are generally provided by outside vendors. Large numbers of packing boxes and materials have to be disposed of by the recreational vehicle manufacturer. These boxes and materials often include cardboard and foam materials that are bulky requiring large trash facilities and have a detrimental environmental effect. These factors also represent a cost to the manufacturer.